NW Company Building Homes to Help Those In Need

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If you live or have visited Portland within the past couple years you have probably noticed how bad the homeless situation has become. The people it affects the most and that are in the most danger are those who are homeless. Not having a warm place to reside and feel safe plays havoc on the ability to overcome and get back on some sort of path forward. Many of those in this situation are unable to see a way to recover for innumerable reasons. Not having access to clean water, a shower, the ability to cook and preserve meals, to sleep without the fear of not waking up; these are just some of those reasons.

Just as someone has the seen the problem, if you have driven through certain parts of Portland you may also have noticed small areas being filled with little houses to help remedy this situation and get people back on their feet. These little homes are built by a company named Pallet. Their goal is to create a place for people in need of a home to get back on their feet. The small houses come furnished with bunk beds, heating, small cooking stove, as well as a small fridge. These houses are built in little village like communities, but allow personal space while having lockable doors. Each house takes roughly an hour to assemble and costs only around $6,000 dollars each.

"We want the world to see that people’s futures are defined by their potential, not their past history."

– AMY KING, PALLET FOUNDER AND CEO

The creation of these small villages aren't the only thing that Pallet does though. The main goal of the company is the people they help. 80% of their employees are people that have been through homelessness before. Pallet offers paid training and work in construction skills acquired through the building of the homes. In addition to this while residents are in the homes life guidance as well as mental health assistance is also provided. This company aims to help people far and wide, not just in Portland. Last year over 1500 homes had been built across the U.S. and they plan on helping even more. Their website has more information on the services provided as well as their mission goals and plans for the future. At the bottom they even have links to other resources to help those needing just a little help getting back on their feet.





News Articles/Video covering Pallet's work in downtown Portland, OR.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/tiny-home-pods-help-portlanders-facing-homelessness/283-c01dea86-cb4d-4dd7-ac34-dc60a486bb60

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/an-everett-companys-tiny-homeless-shelters-pop-up-in-portland-more-cities-across-u-s/

Pallet's website

https://palletshelter.com/


Written/Published by Jerek Rauch


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